Television digest and FM reports (Feb-Dec 1947)

electronics picture — TV, FM, FX to the contrary notwithstanding. Industrial applications seem to occupy most radio engineers now. FCC Chairman Denny, in his banquet speech Wednesday night (telecast over eastern coax-linked stations), pointed up these facts when he related how industrialists are now clamoring for spectrum space for radio heating devices. He smilingly accused radiomen of "sorcery" in perfecting their fantastic devices, mentioning as some examples: cooking food by radio, sewing raincoats and shower curtains, gluing canoes and pianos, printing newspapers and flashing telegrams by facsimile, steering ships and planes, locating oil and minerals, dispatching trains, busses, taxis. His disquisition on "technological black magic," incidentally, is well worth reading; it added greatly to his stature among the radio fraternity. V7e got the impression, too, that in TV and FM (except for the color-monochrome argument), things seem to have boiled down to a matter of refinements. Keen interest in these refinements was apparent in heavily attended TV and FM sessions. Showed up in close questioning of Speakers on such matters as new TV receiver optical systems, the "flying-spot scanner" for improved picture detail, better control of film on TV by use of pulsed light source, methods of achieving high gain in FM transmitting antennas. Though home receivers weren’t exhibited, people with indirect interest in TV (Studio lighting and test equipment, for example) complained to this writer of miniscule Set production. One said he's unable to reconcile' "procrastination" of manufacturers with their promotion, since their TV promotion tends to hurt non-TV sales. Another remarked he believes public is becoming more and more wary of buying expensive Sets of any kind since so many new things are in the offing — TV, FM, FX, wire and tape recorders, etc. Confusion, he added, has effect of making public content with little table AMs. Other convention observations: Strongly divided opinions as to direction facsimile will take — some feeling that its immediate and foreseeable future lies in non-broadcasting applications, that' newspapers by FX are' long way off; others seeing FX as supplementing broadcasting with program notes, grocery lists, score cards, etc. Notable were numerous recording equipment exhibits — disc, wire, tape. Industry is awaiting sales figures to settle argument over public acceptance. Some see rewinding too much trouble, but wire and tape people claim plenty of orders. WHAT MAKES PETRILLO TICK: You get a pretty good idea of what makes , James Caesar Petrillo tick ,in March 8 Collier's: "Santa Claus with a Horn" by George Frasier. It's worth reading not only for a good sizeup of AFM's §46,000-a-year-plus-supper-money czar ("I don't want a t ' ing fa myself. It's all fa the boys") but also for historical background on the musicians union and its various escapades. Only this week Petrillo pleaded pending Supreme Court decision on Lea Bill in declining House Labor Committee's invitation to testify in answer to charges of dictatorship. Chairman Hartley said excuse was good one, would issue no subpoena, but promised new labor bill (including antidotes to featherbedding and made-work union practices) out of committee before April 1. Having accepted jurisdiction in Petrillo case (Vol. 2, No 49) , Supreme Court will probably hear AFM and Government arguments week of April 29, which means decision probably before end of June. AEMSTBQHG'S FM LICENSEES: Some ,big names like Crosley, Emerson, Philco and RCA are conspicuously absent, but Maj Armstrong's latest list of his FM patent licensees, now numbering 28, reads like Radio Social Register. Authorized to make receivers under his system, paying royalty rate of approximately 1% of manufacturers' selling price, are: Airadio, AnSley, Browning, Canadian Marconi, Cover Dual , Signal Systems, Doolittle Radio, Electric & Musical Industries Ltd. (London), Espey, Fada, Finch, Freed, Garod, General Electric, Hallicraf ters , Howard, Link, Magnavox, Maguire, Minerva, Pilot, Scott, Radio Engineering Laboratories, Stewart-Warner, StrombergCarlson, Templetone, Western Electric, Westinghouse , Zenith. FM transmitter royalties are based on power, range from §150 for 250 watts to §2,000 for 50 kw, are paid by stations.